The Anti-Defamation League condemned the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers' union, for voting to ban its members from using any ADL materials in the classroom, calling the Sunday measure "a radical, antisemitic agenda."
The ADL, a civil rights organization that combats anti-Semitism, says it is "profoundly disturbing that a group of NEA activists would brazenly attempt to further isolate their Jewish colleagues and push a radical, antisemitic agenda on students," Jewish Insider reported.
Thousands of NEA delegates gathered in Portland, Ore., to green-light the measure that instructs educators to "not use, endorse, or publicize materials from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), such as its curricular materials or statistics." The resolution now heads to the union's nine-member executive committee for final approval.
The vote comes as anti-Semitic incidents have surged in the United States following Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel. President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order in late January to "combat anti-Semitism" nationwide, has cracked down by revoking visas of foreign nationals linked to anti-Semitic activity and withholding billions in federal funding from universities that fail to protect Jewish students on campus.
The NEA measure stemmed from a grassroots campaign called #DropTheADLFromSchools, which began with an online open letter and later gained traction among left-wing educators and unions, according to Jewish Insider.
The NEA's Jewish Affairs caucus condemned the resolution, saying it "sends a troubling message of exclusion" at a time when "incidents of hate and bias are on the rise across the country." The caucus told Jewish Insider that its members will continue using ADL materials in classrooms.
Ahead of the Sunday vote, several Jewish delegates pleaded with their colleagues to reject the measure.
"I stand here and ask you to oppose [the measure] to show that all are truly welcome here," a New Jersey teacher said, according to audio of the closed-door meeting obtained by Jewish Insider.
Another Jewish teacher invoked NEA executive director Kim Anderson's earlier pledge that "this union has your back."
"Does that include stopping Jewish hate, anti-Semitism?" the teacher asked. "Some of our members don't feel they are safe."